HO CHI MINH CITY: TV remains the most popular entertainment medium and most effective advertising vehicle in Vietnam, new figures show.

A survey by Kantar Media found that 90% of households own a TV and that the average Vietnamese spends 229 minutes a day in front of it.

This compares to 50 minutes spent on the internet and just 16 minutes reading newspapers.

Young people in the 12-24 age group use the internet more than watching television in the daytime, but, said Tran Thi Thanh Mai, general director of Kantar Media Vietnam, "there is no clear evidence that the increasing time spent on the internet will reduce the time spent on television".

He also said that TV ad sales in Vietnam reached $600m in the first nine months of 2012, a 30% increase year-on-year.

During this time, ad sales in print media and on radio stations declined slightly, and Mai noted that business continued to invest heavily in TV ads during the fourth quarter.

Not only does TV advertising have the greatest reach but it is the most cost-effective, at $15 per thousand viewers, compared to $18 for newspapers and $36 for magazines.

Kantar's research also showed that almost two thirds of people aged 15-54 admitted that TV greatly influenced their shopping decisions. And separate surveys indicate that shoppers often ask for products they have seen on TV.

Data sourced from VietnamNet; additional content by Warc staff